


warming back up (but not too quickly)

by EllieLovesYou



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, a fix it? kind of, alice cooper is trying, and a mention of b.ughead but they break up soooo, cheryl needed to go to the dman hospital not just wrapped up in a towel, suicide attempt mentioned throughout, there are no romantic relationships, there are some hints of beronica and cheroise but that's about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 11:04:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10920534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieLovesYou/pseuds/EllieLovesYou
Summary: And Betty Cooper has done a lot of hard and ugly things for people that aren’t family--she’ll go to hell and back for the people that are.





	warming back up (but not too quickly)

**Author's Note:**

> okay so,,,warning im not 100% sure what this is. i hadnt been able to write since it was revealed that the coopers were actually the blossoms and all that because it made me feel really gross about my own writing and i just couldnt write but i got hit out of nowhere with some inspiration and this was born. 
> 
> it's in the tags but, again, just to reiterate there are no romantic relationships in here. hints of two but that's something for another day (im thinking of turning this into a series lemme know what you think???) because i really just wanted to focus in on cheryl finding a sense of family and love and i, personally, think it could work out with the coopers (minus hal just cause i dont like him)
> 
> this does deviate from canon just a bit--varchie isn't a thing, hal isn't back home, betty recognizes that jughead isn't the one for her,,you know,,my own dreams. anyways this is vvvvv cheryl and betty centric with lots of polly because i love her and i want more of her. 
> 
> okay this note is long so lets just get to it! i hope you like it because i really do favor this piece over some of my others! enjoy!

The waiting room is so silent, Betty is sure that everyone can hear her heartbeat pound against her ribcage, hear each her pulse spike every time a doctor so much as looks in the direction of her and her friends, can hear her own thoughts screaming at her.

“I hate this” Betty looks over to her side where Veronica sits her hand wrapped around Betty’s, her brows furrowed together, a frown in place and her eyes filled with concern “Why won’t they tell us anything? _We_ brought her in and it’s not like Penelope has shown up”

“We’re not family” Archie looks down at his not bandaged hand and stretches his fingers out “We’re barely friends” he mumbles but everyone hears it and they know he’s not wrong. Veronica accused Cheryl of incest not too long ago, Cheryl publicly slapped and beat on Jughead just a few days ago, her and Archie haven’t been on great terms since the whole kissing disaster and Cheryl and Betty’s friendship has always been strained (except for the days where it was nonexistent).

But--she’s family.

The blonde’s stomach twists sharply at that thought-- _she’s Cheryl’s family_ , technically.

The newest Cooper-Blossom (apparently the same fucking people) secret that had yet to surface, Betty couldn’t even stomach telling Veronica or Archie or Kevin. How do you tell someone that the Coopers are actually the Blossoms and that Polly is carrying her third cousin’s babies?

 So far both parties want to keep the damned secret buried so Polly can raise her babies without people knowing what they are the product of. So that they can have a happy, healthy, normal life.

And Betty _was_ willing to forget it--for Polly. For the babies.

She _was_ willing to forget what her dad told her and take the secret to her grave and never utter a word about it (even if that really did make her no better than her dad).

But now-- _now_ Cheryl’s in the hospital and they don’t know anything and the person that is supposed to be Cheryl’s mother, Cheryl’s only family, is barely human most days. Everyone knows how the Blossoms favored Jason and how Cheryl would always be second, even though their dear Jason was cold and dead in the ground. Betty just never thought Penelope wouldn’t show up.

 No one deserves to wake up alone, in the hospital. Especially after attempting to take your own life.

“Penelope will show” Jughead’s words take her from her inner thoughts “she has to” they sound sour as they leave the boy’s mouth and Betty almost scoffs--has he met Penelope?

Veronica seems to have the same exact thought because she does scoff and say “Have you met Penelope?”

Betty shakes her head--she can’t just wait around. She can’t. She and Cheryl may not get along and Betty waltzed in and took Polly right out from under her and Cheryl probably hates her but--damn all, the girl's family. Betty and Polly and, even, Alice--they are Cheryl’s family.

And Betty Cooper has done a lot of hard and ugly things for people that aren’t family--she’ll go to hell and back for the people that are.

She pushes herself up from the plastic chair that has been making her back ache for the past half hour, gently takes her hand from Veronica’s and ignores her friends questions and marches up the nurse’s station, a new determination blooming in her chest “I need to see my cousin” the words feel awkward in her mouth, like she’s telling the world’s most unconvincing lie “Please, she was brought in and no one is telling me anything and I’m--I’m worried” the words continue to feel weird in her mouth but not wrong--she is Cheryl’s cousin (no matter how distant) and she is worried about the redhead.

She’s never seen Cheryl so broken down than when she looked at them from her place in the middle of the river , she’s never seen the girl so void of everything good only to be left with pain “ _Please_ ”

The nurse eyes her for a second before sighing “Name?”

“Cheryl. Cheryl Blossom”

“Miss--”

“I know” she knows she can’t get around everyone knowing who Cheryl is and who she is but, maybe, there’s a reason she found out her father’s worse secret when she did, maybe it was for some other reason other than bringing Polly home “But we’re family. Distant but family, I swear”

Cheryl once told her she was an awful liar.

Cheryl wasn’t lying--Betty can’t lie for shit and she’s pretty sure the nurse picks up on that because she just nods “room 304 and only family, Miss”

“Thank you” she offers the nurse a sad smile before spinning around and running back to the trio still sitting down, eyeing Betty curiously “Okay, I got her room number”

“What?” Veronica pops up, a tired laugh escaping her “How?”

“That’s--” Betty swallows, hard “that’s not important. Right now it just matters that I’m gonna go see her and I’ll let you know how she’s doing”

“Wait--” Archie catches her wrist as he stands up “Betty, we want to come too. We’re worried”

The blonde shakes her head “You can’t. Only family is allowed right now”

Jughead narrows his eyes at her “You’re not family to Cheryl, Betty”

There’s a moment where no one speaks as they take in Betty’s face, a mix of emotions dancing across her features as she tries to choke out a response but Veronica shakes her head “Later” she takes Archie’s hand off of Betty’s wrist and replaces it with her own “Betts, whatever is going on, we would like to know but later. Go see her and make sure she’s okay”

Betty’s never been more grateful for Veronica Lodge in her life.

She just nods and walks away from the small group leaving nothing but confusion in her wake.

 

-

 

“Oh god” Betty bites down on her lip as she takes in the sight of Cheryl Blossom being swallowed up by a hospital bed with tube down her throat “I--”

“Miss? Are you family?” she spins around to see a doctor walking into the room, his stance telling her he’s already poised to throw her out.

“Yes, yes, I’m her cousin” this time, the words slip out of her mouth before she can even really consider them, she moves closer to Cheryl and everything about the redhead makes Betty’s chest ache “I--I--what’s going on?” she takes another step closer to Cheryl’s bed “Is she going to be okay?”

The doctor sighs and his tense shoulders, relax “When you kids brought her in, she was pretty banged up. She fell through the ice, you said?”

“Y-yeah” Betty nods--they had agreed to tell no one about Cheryl’s suicide attempt until they could talk to Cheryl, herself and see if she’s willing to get the help she needs and if she’s not--well, that is a bridge they would cross when they got to it “damn ice is just so--” Betty’s voice cracks the slightest as her mind forces the image of Cheryl being sucked in by the water to the forefront of her thoughts “thin”

“Miss?”

The blonde shakes her head “Why--why is she being treated with a tube and--and an IV?”

“She inhaled a lot of water, we intubated her to help her breathe until she’s strong enough to do it on her own” Betty bites down on her lip again--Cheryl not being strong is a concept Betty has never been familiar with. She’s always been one of the strongest people in Riverdale.

The doctor moves to Cheryl’s side and points to the IV “and she fell into some pretty cold waters, the IV is working in a warm salt water solution to help warm her up along with the warming blanket--anything else and she could warm up too quickly and go into cardiac arrest. That’s the case with anyone with hypothermia”

“Right” Betty falls onto the chair by Cheryl’s bed and starts to reach out before pulling back, her fingers just brushing the warming blanket “is she going to be okay?”

“She’s going to be just fine--she has some bruised ribs from where your friend performed CPR but she will only be tender, a week or two at most there”

Betty nods as she tries to swallow all the information being given to her but it’s definitely one of the harder things she’s had to swallow lately--along with Clifford killing his son, her sister being pregnant with their cousin’s babies and the fact that Cheryl just tried to commit suicide a few hours earlier “And when can she go home?”

The doctor sighs heavily “not right now and not when she wakes up. Being in the ICU is Cheryl’s best bet--we are going to monitor her temperature, cardiac and respiratory functions to make sure she’s okay before we even think about sending her home. Maybe a week, maybe two or even longer. We just have to wait and see how she does”

“Right” she grabs the edge of her skirt and bunches it up in her hand, anything to keep from her nails meeting skin “but she--she is going to be okay, right?”

“I have no reason to believe she isn’t going to make a full recovery”

A relief crashes over her as she lets out a breath she didn’t she was holding “I--” she blinks back tears and sucks in a shaky breath “thank you”

 

-

 

“Betty?” the blonde looks up at the familiar voice to see both her mom and sister standing in the doorway. Polly rushes over and gathers her sister up in a hug and as soon as Polly lets go, she’s wrapped up in her mom’s arms “We were so worried. You weren’t picking up your phone and you weren’t at the jubilee and neither were your friends and--”

“I’m sorry” Betty says softly and she pulls back “my phone died and I just got them to leave the waiting room” a beat “How did you find me?”

“We called Veronica, she was vague with us but told us to come here and that you weren’t hurt and to ask for Cheryl and--” Polly’s eyes move to Cheryl and she covers her mouth “oh my god--what happened?”

“Fell through the ice” Betty sighs “She--she just fell through and Archie punched through to get her”

Alice looks down at the girl “Is she going to be okay?”

“They think so, yeah but they want to keep her here even after she wakes up because of the cold waters, she has hypothermia so they want to monitor her”

“Right” Alice sighs as Polly moves to sit down on the other side of Cheryl, taking the girl’s hand in her own. The Cooper matriarch looks to her youngest daughter “sweetheart, why are you here? Cheryl has family”

“Us, mom. She has us” Betty says tensely “Her mother hasn’t shown up, her brother is dead because their father killed him--she has us”

An uneasy silence falls over the room--everyone was still having a tough time with the revelation that Hal had dropped on them just a few days ago. They were doing just fine pretending it didn't happen but now Cheryl’s in the hospital and they have to think about it again, maybe even deal with it.

Betty moves back to her seat and leans back, she has (kind of) accepted what’s going on but she knows her mom will need a few more days.

No one speaks for another hour as Alice moves in and out of the room, handing her girls water, putting a pillow behind Polly’s back, talking to the nurses about Cheryl’s vitals and whatnot while both Polly and Betty refuse to move.

“She had you” Betty says softly, her eyes glued to Cheryl still “She had you and I just--took you out from under her”

Polly’s eyes snap to her baby sister “Betty--”

“Pol, she had you and those babies and I took you both when she was going to need you most. Maybe--maybe she wouldn’t have--”

“Wouldn’t have what, Betty?”

She shakes her head, swallowing down the truth “Nothing. Just--nothing”

Polly sighs and leans forwards, not letting go of Cheryl’s hand but simply stretching her free one across Cheryl’s legs for Betty’s to grasp, something Betty does without hesitation “Betty, you didn’t take me out of their home to hurt Cheryl, you took me out of that home because they were bad people with a twisted moral compass and knew what was going on and didn’t tell me and one of them ended up being Jason’s killer--your heart was in the right place”

“Still”

“Betty, whatever happened--it’s not your fault”

Betty doesn’t say anything, instead just squeezes her sister’s hand.

They stay like that for another 20 minutes before Alice walks back into the room and sighs “visiting hours are over, girls. It’s time to go home”

“Mom, I’m gonna stay”

“Betty” Alice sighs out

Polly shakes her head “No, Betty, let me--”

“No. Pol, you can’t sleep in these chairs, it’s not good for your back and mom, you’re not gonna stay here and I’m not leaving her alone. I promise, I’ll be fine”

Alice looks like she might fight Betty on her words, force her daughter to come back but instead sighs heavily, leans down and presses a kiss to the crown of Betty’s head “Call me if you need me. I put my charger in your purse, I have another one at the house for my phone”

Betty sighs, a soft smile tugging at the corner of her mouth “thanks, mom”

Polly gives her sister a hug before pressing a kiss to Cheryl’s forehead and walking out with Alice on her heels leaving Betty alone with Cheryl, again.

 

-

 

Betty is wrapped up in Veronica’s arms as soon as the other girls sees her. Betty hugs back and revels in the safety she’s always been able to find in Veronica’s presence, as soon as she pulls back Archie sweeps her up and her chest grows warm--spending the night with Cheryl had been hard and not because the chair was uncomfortable or because the beeping was annoying but because everytime she closed her eyes she just saw Cheryl being sucked into Sweetwater River and everytime she opened her eyes to rid herself of those thoughts, she was faced with an unconscious Cheryl.

It was a vicious cycle.

But having her friends here--her best friends here and holding her. It eases the ache in her chest like nothing else.

“Hi guys” she murmurs as Archie lets her go “I’m sorry, I didn’t text all night and most of today--it’s just been” Betty sucks in a breath “it’s been a lot”

“You look tired, babe” Veronica takes Betty’s hand and squeezes it, softly “Why didn’t you go home?”

“I couldn’t leave her” the blonde admits “I couldn’t. Every time I thought about leaving, even just for the night, all I could think about was her waking up alone and scared and it just--I couldn’t”

“No one blames you but you were missed at school today and--oh, yeah” Archie swings his backpack around so he can unzip it, he digs around for a second before taking out some papers and a book “here’s some homework, I know you don’t wanna fall behind”

Betty chuckles lightly as she takes the items from him “thanks, Arch”

“And, here’s something for when Cheryl wakes up” Veronica opens her purse and plucks out Cheryl’s spider broach “swiped it off of Jughead when he wasn’t looking”

“Speaking of--” she looks past them “is he coming?”

Veronica and Archie share a look, a sad one before he sighs and looks to Betty “No, he--he said there’s really no reason for him to come. That we should just let him go, already”

Betty sighs as she allows the words to wash over her--yesterday, she would’ve ran right over to Southside High again and dragged him back but, she just doesn’t have the mental energy to deal with someone who constantly feels the need to subtly make everything about himself. If he can’t come to check in on a girl who just tried to take her own life because her family has literally fallen apart in a matter of months or even to just check in on his girlfriend then, he’s not what she needs.

“He said we have an expiration date” Betty sighs out as she takes the broach from Veronica’s hand “He said it, I didn’t believe him” she chuckles, humorlessly “Guess we’ve reached it”

Veronica sighs “I’m sorry, B”

“Don’t be” the blonde shrugs “my relationship drama is the least of my concerns right now anyways, Cheryl is my concern”

“How is she?” Archie asks, his eyes swimming with concern.

“Good, well---better” the blonde sighs “they’re weaning her off the ventilator so she can start breathing on her own again and that hasn’t caused any problems, her temperature is good so they removed the IV and nothing awful has happened” she smiles, a little tightly “it’s all good”

Veronica cocks her head to the side “But--?”

“But it won’t feel like that till she wakes up, you know? Just staring at her sleeping--it doesn’t feel like everything is okay yet”

“Hey” Archie places a hand on Betty’s shoulder “She’s gonna wake up and she’s gonna talk and she’s gonna bitch about the fact that she can’t boss anyone around and then all will be right in the world” Betty laughs softly,  leave it to Archie to make her laugh when she doesn’t want to “she’s just resting, I think she’s earned that”

Betty nods “She definitely has”

 

-

 

 

Cheryl wakes nearly up after nearly 48 hours of being unconscious.

Betty, at first, doesn’t notice Cheryl’s hand twitch because she’s too absorbed in typing out her latest ‘ _Cheryl Update_ ’ text to both Veronica and Archie but then she hears a muffled moan and she practically throws her phone to the side as she looks up to see Cheryl’s eyes cracking open.

“Oh, I--Cheryl” Betty stands up and tries to keep her nervousness out of her voice, tries to be soothing “Cheryl, it’s me, Betty. You’re okay--” Betty looks around for a second before finding the nurses’ button and pressing on it five times in rapid succession “You’re okay”

The more Cheryl seems to come to, the more she panics at the fact that she has a tube in her throat. Her hand flaps around for a second before the blonde takes it and holds it, firmly “you’re okay, I’m here, you’re not alone--” the door swings open and a nurse rushes over to see Cheryl’s eyes wide.

“Oh--” she quickly rushes over to Cheryl’s bedside and peers down at the redhead  “Cheryl” she speaks loudly but calmly “Cheryl, I’m Nurse Barnes, okay? Now I’m gonna take this tube out for you, but you need to calm down for me”

Cheryl’s eyes snap to Betty who just nods “She’s okay, Cheryl, you’re okay”

It takes another minute or two for her to really calm down but as soon as she does, Nurse  Barnes starts explaining what’s going to happen--it sounds uncomfortable and it sounds like it might send Cheryl back into a panic so Betty doesn’t let go out of the redhead’s hand even as the nurse leaves the room to get everything.

“You’ll be okay--she’s nicer than the night nurse who kept giving me dirty looks all night for peeing every two hours” she thinks, or hopes, that if Cheryl didn’t have a tube down her throat, she would’ve smiled but all the redhead does is look at her with amused eyes.

Nurse Barnes comes back and with everything and after a few minutes of moving around goes back to Cheryl’s bedside “Okay, honey--” she holds up an oxygen mask “we’re gonna put this on you as soon as the tube is removed, okay? Normal mask, just right over your mouth and nose, nothing invasive” she puts down the mask and picks up something else “now we suction” she suctions out any spit in Cheryl’s mouth, around the tube before she puts that down “Now this part isn’t fun but as soon as we do it, then we get to take this out, okay? Trust me” this time, if Betty is remembering correctly, the nurse suctions down the breathing tube and this causing Cheryl’s eyes to screw together as she makes a gagging noise but it’s over as quickly as it started leaving Cheryl with tears rolling down her, now, red face.

“Okay and--” the nurse sighs “this is where we take it out, okay? I’m gonna go back down and it’s gonna be a little uncomfortable but when you feel it coming up, I need you to cough as hard as you can, okay?” Betty grips Cheryl’s hand a little tighter as the redhead nods “Good girl now, here we go--” she looks like she’s repeating her last step but when she pulls back, the tube slips out of Cheryl’s mouth as she coughs.

“Good girl” Nurse Barnes wipes at Cheryl’s chin where spit came out “you did amazing, Cheryl” She does a little more suctioning to help with the spit before placing the mask over the redhead’s face “it may hurt a little to talk and your voice is gonna sound rough but that’s completely normal, okay?” Cheryl nods, a little weakly “Okay. I’m gonna get your doctor and he’s gonna talk to your some more”

The nurse leaves and Cheryl looks over at Betty with questioning eyes.

“Yeah, just--give it a few more minutes before you attack me with questions”

 

-

 

It ends up being half an hour before Cheryl feels up to talking and after some help with water, she finally lolls her head to the side, slides her mask off and croaks out “why are you here?”

Betty looks stunned for a second at hearing Cheryl’s voice but quickly gathers her bearings “we’re family”

Cheryl huffs, a little roughly “barely”

“S _till_ \--I didn’t want you to be alone when you woke up and my mom and Polly were here last night till visiting hours ended” she hopes it might take out the sting of having to tell her that her mother never showed.

The redhead nods, her eyes shine with tears “And---my mom?”

“Your doctor said he called her but she never answered and she hasn’t shown”

Knowing that Betty was by her side all night doesn’t seem to take the sting out of the admission that her mother never showed because her eyes become pained and her hands curl into the blanket“Right” a beat “How long have I been out?”

“Nearly a full two days. Not too long”

Cheryl just nods and goes back to watching the news show she and Betty had been watching to pass the time and, for Cheryl’s sake, Betty pretends she doesn’t notice the redhead wipe at her eyes.

 

-

 

They don’t talk till Polly and Alice walk through the door a few hours later after Polly got off from school and Alice got off from work.

“Oh, Cheryl, you’re awake!” Polly rushes over to the bedside “How are you feeling?”

“Like I fell through some ice and into a freezing river” Betty’s pretty sure anyone else would've made a face at the rough words but Polly just smiles and lets out a watery chuckle.

“I’m glad you’re feeling like yourself again” Polly’s shaky words manage to rope a smile out of the redhead.

“Yes, well, before anyone starts crying,  I have an announcement” all three girls look to Alice who stands at the foot of the bed “Cheryl, when you leave the hospital, you will be coming to stay with us”

At that, all three girls let out a resounding _“what_?”

“When I first came down here to see only Betty by your side, I contacted your mother. I was trying to get her to come down but she--” she sighs “she was adamant about not coming so I decided something needed to be done so  after a very long talk with, what I presume was a very drunk Penelope Blossom, she agreed to give me power of attorney that I may make medical decisions for you, sign anything you need for school and all that jazz” she sighs “anyways, my lawyer already got the papers from your mother so, I just thought I would let you know, that you won’t be going back to Thornhill for a little while”

Betty feels like maybe her mom could’ve delivered the news a little more softly but then she wouldn’t be Alice Cooper. 

She looks to Cheryl who is staring at Alice, not blinking and barely breathing “Cheryl? You okay?”

“I--” she opens her mouth and shuts it a few more times before “and she let you do all this?  Didn’t fight for it or--- _anything_?”

“Like I said, when I spoke to her last night, she was drunk. I could practically smell the maple rum on her breath but she had to have been sober this morning when she walked to her lawyer’s office, signed the papers and faxed them over. Your mother seems to have--lost a marble or two in the last few months”

“That’s putting it lightly”

Cheryl sucks in a breath and then “thank you, Mrs. Cooper” in truth, no one expected that reaction--they expected her to demand that Alice leave, that Betty and Polly leave and then go back home to Penelope and forget how they offered up their home to her.

They didn’t expect those soft words to slip from Cheryl’s lips.

But Cheryl’s so tired--she loves her mother even if her mother doesn't love her and she wishes Penelope would’ve shown up but, she can’t do it anymore. She can’t wander around Thornhill haunted by the memories of her brother, the tainted memories of her father while her mom drunkenly yells and throws things at the only thing she has left.

Alice regains her footing and just waves her off “My girls seemed to have become very attached to you and, like Betty said last night--you’re family. You just go by a different name. If your mother isn’t going to do her job, I will try to be your--” Alice nose scrunches “your aunt” a beat “if you want”

It’s not the sweetest thing she could’ve said but it’s enough for Cheryl who just nods and offers her a small, but sad, smile “I would like that”

 

-

 

Three days into Cheryl’s stay at the hospital in the ICU, Betty decides to bring up the whole ‘suicide attempt’ now that Polly and Alice aren’t around.

“Cheryl” the redhead looks over at the blonde “Can we talk?”

“Nothing else to do in this godforsaken room” Cheryl groans as she shuts off the TV “I swear to god, if I have to watch another western to pass the time, I’m going to break the TV with it’s own stupid ass remote”

Betty chuckles “I’ll be sure to ask Pol to bring around my laptop so Netflix can keep you company while I’m at school” the blonde lets out a small huff of hair “I--um, wanted to talk to you about what happened Cheryl” a beat “at the lake”

A moment passes “Oh”

“Cheryl, you went there--you went there to--to die. To be with Jason” Betty swallows “I didn’t tell the hospital you did because they would’ve taken you to the psych ward or something and--it just didn’t seem like a good idea but--Cheryl you need help”

“I could say the same about you, Cooper” Cheryl snaps back but Betty doesn’t take offense for two reasons 1) it’s true and 2) she’s scared and lashing out, Betty knows this.

“I can’t force you to get help and threatening to tell everyone will do absolutely nothing but, please, think about it” Betty grabs Cheryl’s hand and squeezes it tightly “Cheryl, I know what it is to have those thoughts, to want to just--to just disappear. I know” the redhead looks down at her lap but that doesn’t deter Betty “I also know that when I actually talked to someone, it helped. Helped more than I ever thought it would. I’m here, Cheryl. Polly is here, hell, even my mom is here. We’re here and we’re not going anywhere so talk to us, or let us help you find someone to talk to or just-- _something_ ” a beat “please think about it”

Cheryl sucks in a breath and just sighs, heavily “yeah, okay” and that’s how that conversation ends.

 

-

 

Betty, unfortunately, goes back to school on Cheryl’s fourth day in the hospital. She still sleeps over so the girl isn’t alone and just gets dressed in the morning at the hospital while the redhead sleeps.

As soon as she steps through the front doors, all eyes are on her.

Veronica and Kevin rush over and sweep her away from prying eyes before Veronica groans “You, darling, are the talk of the town along with a certain redhead”

Betty frowns “What do they know?”

“Just that Cheryl had a accident, she almost died, Archie saved her and that the Coopers have been making regular trips to the hospital with the youngest Cooper sitting by Cheryl’s bedside every night” the word sound sour as they leave Veronica’s mouth but Betty decides to file that away for later.

“In short, everyone thinks you and Cheryl are dating and that you’re camping out at your girlfriend’s bedside”

“What?!” Betty shakes her head “No, no, no--I mean--no. That’s not what’s happening”

Kevin shrugs “can’t blame them for thinking it when you won’t leave her side”

The blonde sighs “It’s just--it’s so complicated and--” she groans, she feels like one wrong word and everything’s going to tumble out and she can’t just tell Veronica and Kevin that she and Cheryl are actually related--at least, not without talking to Cheryl and Polly first. Cheryl because, well, she’s involved and Polly because she has the most to lose if the secret were to ever come out “God, that’s not it”

Veronica sighs “We know that but, you know--you should expect some stares all day”

Betty blows out a breath and straightens her back “We’ve dealt with worse now let’s get going before we’re late”

 

-

 

Betty is stopped in her tracks only one time during her first day back at school and it’s by Josie McCoy.

“Betty!”

The blonde straightens her back at her name being called and turns around to see the head Pussycat walking down the hall to catch up to her “Josie?”

“I--how is my Cherry doing?” Josie’s eyes are soft as she asks about the redhead and Betty nods--right. She forgot that Cheryl and Josie are friends, for the most part “She isn’t answering any texts or calls and no matter how much I try, they won’t let me in to see her”

Betty makes a mental note to ask Cheryl why she isn’t answering any texts or phone calls before she just offers Josie a small smile “She’s doing okay. Right now, she’s still only in the hospital for observation, they wanna be sure everything is okay before we take her home”

Josie nods “okay, that’s--that’s good but she--she is okay, right? Nothing is wrong?” Betty nods

“She’s okay”

“Thanks” Josie is about to spin on her heel and walk away but lets out a huff “I--can you ask her to call me? Or, at least, call me when she gets out so I can see her?”

“I will”

The pussycat smiles, a little tensely and then walks away leaving Betty a little more worried.

 

-

 

**_Cheryl: dr said that with the way everything is looking, a two week long stay probably isnt gonna happen and that i should start walking around or smthing_ **

**_Betty: that’s good! when i get out of here ill grab some snacks to celebrate! And we will take a walk around the icu_ **

**_Cheryl: u dnt have to_ **

**_Betty: cake, cupcakes or donuts?_ **

**_Cheryl: cupcakes_ **

****

-

 

“Archie broke his hand, you know” the blonde had just finished recounting the tale of just how exactly they got to the redhead being she really can’t remember much after falling in, while walking around the ICU, her body weight helping support Cheryl.

Cheryl snorts “dumbass punched the ice when he wearing boots that probably could’ve done the job quicker”

Betty smiles, despite herself “Cheryl”

“Oh, fine--tell him I said ‘thank you’ or whatever you think he wants to hear” they turn a corner, Cheryl’s room in sight “you know him better than I do”

There’s an underlying sour tone to the redhead’s words and Betty just cocks her head to the side “you know, they were all really worried about you and I swear almost as soon as I send any message about you both Veronica and Archie open it right away” a beat “they want to see you but the doctor is still restricting visitors”

“Actually” Cheryl sighs and looks down at her hands “that’s my doing”

Betty’s furrows her brows together “What?”

“While you were at school today, the nurse came in to tell me that non-family members can start visiting but I told her that I didn’t want non-family in the room. I told her to just tell you and anyone else who asked I was still on restricted visiting” Cheryl shrugs as they walk through the door to her room “I just don’t wanna see anyone else”

The blonde frowns “that’s not it”

“You sure like to psychoanalyze people”

Betty helps the redhead into her bed “Cheryl--”

“Look, the minute I let people in, they know, alright?” Cheryl sighs as she shifts around on the bed “They know me and you are related, they know that Jason and Polly were cousins, they know our dirty little secret, they know that I tried to--tried to _die_ ” a beat “and they get to see me looking like a fucking drowned rat. You saw me with a tube down my throat and you saw it getting taken out--I couldn’t care less about how I look around you”

Betty chuckles--there’s a compliment in there, somewhere.

“Right now, if it’s just you and Polly and Alice, I can deal with that. I can deal and I can handle and that’s--this is easy right now because I lived with Polly and you aren’t the worse and your mom is a cakewalk compared to my mom. I’m comfortable with this, anything else--”

“Will be too much” Cheryl doesn’t agree but she doesn’t disagree either so the blonde assumes she hits the nail on the head “they’re just worried, Cheryl. We all saw you go under, it was--it was something that I still can’t get out of my head”

“Maybe when we go ho--back to your place but not now”

Betty just nods and takes her usual spot next to Cheryl’s bed and hands Cheryl one of the cupcakes she picked up on the way to the hospital “okay” she takes a bite out her own cupcake “Josie stopped me today”

Cheryl sighs mid bite “I haven’t been responding”

“She told me” Betty licks some frosting off her finger “why haven’t you been answering?”

“It’s--I don’t know. She’s my friend but--but I don’t know how much she’ll wanna be my friend after she finds out I tried to off myself”

“Cheryl, she’s not gonna cut you off for that”

The redhead shrugs and takes another bite of her cupcake “I know, it’s more--I don’t want anyone to look at me different. Same reason I don’t wanna see anybody. I know I will have to at one point but, for right now, I’m okay pretending that I can put this off for forever ”

Betty sighs “you know, you don’t have too much longer in here and then--and then everything is gonna get real”

Cheryl nods “I know”

“But hey” Cheryl looks at Betty “you got us Coopers”

Cheryl smiles, softly “I guess I do”

 

-

 

“I think they look a little like Jason” Betty looks down at one of the many copies of Polly latest sonogram as Cheryl gushes over the 3D pictures “she has his nose”

“I always wonder what hair color they’ll have” Polly admits as she brushes her fingers over the image of her unborn daughter “red or blonde”

“Strawberry blonde is a nice middle” Betty comments as she looks down at one picture of her nephew “or one redhead, one blonde”

“Hmm I don’t know” Cheryl hums out with a smile “Blossoms are known for their red locks”

“And Coopers have blonde hair--” Betty huffs “and apparently we’re the same family”

Polly snorts “What a fucking mess” she leans back into her chair and lays a hand on her belly as her happy smile slowly falls off her face. Betty drops the picture in her hand and leans across Cheryl’s bed and holds out her hand for Polly to take, something the older blonde does as soon as the hand is out.

“We’ll be okay, Pol” Betty rubs Polly’s hand with her thumb “We always bounce back. It’s what we do”

“I just--I don’t know what I’m going to tell them, you know” Polly purses her lips “I mean--how do you explain this kind of thing to someone?”

Cheryl shrugs “You don’t have to tell them anything”

Betty looks up at Cheryl who is still peering down at the sonogram pictures “what do you mean?”

“I mean--they don’t have to know that the Coopers are Blossoms. They won’t accidently end up dating their cousins because they already know they are related to the Blossoms but they think that it’s just because Jason was their dad. They don’t have to know what we are to you as long as we let the secret die with us”

Polly shifts around in her seat “doesn’t that make us no better than our parents?”

“They hid it from us because they’re assholes--both my parents have known my whole life and never said anything and your did didn’t tell you till you were already five months pregnant with twins. Us keeping it from them--” Cheryl gestures to the pictures laid out in front of her “is us protecting them from our parents mistakes”

Polly lets go of Betty’s hand and leans back into her chair, both her hands cradling her stomach “yeah” a beat “maybe”

“Hey, I got a question” Betty sighs out as she tries to change the topic “For you” she looks to Cheryl who raises an eyebrow and shrugs.

“Hit me, Cooper. I’m an open book”

Polly snorts “Bullshit you are”

Betty swats at her sister’s hand “shush--I’m trying to ask a question here” she looks back to Cheryl “You and Josie--just how close were you two?”

“Betty Cooper” Cheryl places her hand on her chest, eyes wide from dramatic effect “Don’t you know a lady never kisses and tells”

“Ha! So there is a kiss to not tell us about”

“I never said that”

Betty narrows her eyes “C’mon, Cheryl. Spill”

“You first!”

“About what?” confusion laces Betty’s tone.

Polly looks between her sister and Cheryl “Betty--did you meet someone since you broke up with Jughead?”

Betty rolls her eyes “Where would I meet someone, Pol? I’m always here plus it’s only been five days since we broke up”

Cheryl scoffs “don’t need to meet anyone when you already met your soulmate and time is irrelevant with loooooove” her tone turns teasing but lighthearted.

“Alright” Betty huffs “I’m confused”

“Veronica, stupid” Cheryl plucks another picture up off the bed “You two are so into each other, it’s gross to look at”

“What?!” Betty shakes her head “No, no--Ronnie and I are just friends”

Polly cocks her head to the side and hums for a second  “You know what? I see it!”

“Oh, c’mon, Pol! Don’t turn against me!”

The older Cooper sister laughs “I’m not--I’m just saying, you know, you two do have this--- _connection_ ”

Cheryl smiles smugly “see? Everyone sees it”

“There’s nothing going on with Ronnie” a beat “nothing”

The redhead rolls her eyes “yeah, whatever you say, Betty”

 

-

 

“Veronica sent these” Betty walks into the room with a vase of flowers in both her hands, she sets them down on the counter before turning back to face Cheryl “says they’re peruvian lilies--they represent friendship”

Cheryl hums a little as she shuts off the laptop Polly had leant her three days prior “tell her I said ‘thank you’”

“I’ll be sure to pass along the message” Betty moves and sits in her usual spot “Polly went home to change out of her uniform but said that she’ll be over as soon as she’s done”

“Okay”

Betty looks over at Cheryl and eyes her curiously, sure, they don’t have in depth conversations every day and night but Cheryl’s been in the hospital for six full days now with Betty spending every night over and leaving only for school the past two days, they talk a lot more than what Chery’s giving her at the current moment.

“Hey, are you okay?”

The redhead looks surprised for a second like Betty stunned her but just shakes her head “I’m okay, just tired”

That’s bullshit and Betty knows it because just two hours ago, Cheryl texted her that she took an exceptionally long nap and was feeling ready to start binging Shameless.

“Cheryl? What’s going on?” she knows she only has a little while before Polly gets to the room with Alice and she’ll lose her shot till visiting hours--Cheryl won’t open up around Alice.

“Nothing is going on. I’m just tired”

“You gloated about a nap while I was in English, you’re not tired” A moment passes as Cheryl looks down at her hands, she blinks and a tear falls down her cheek “Cheryl?”

“My mom stopped by”

Betty’s stomach drops “what?”

“She stopped by”

“I--what did she say?”

Cheryl shakes her head “I don’t--” a soft sob escapes her “I don’t wanna--” another sob escapes her and Betty doesn’t even allow herself to think before she’s moving till she’s in the perfect position to take Cheryl in her arms and squeeze softly. The blonde urges the now sobbing redhead closer to the other end of the bed so she can sit down on the bed with her, as soon as she does, Cheryl buries her face in Betty’s neck and cries and cries and cries till her cries turn to whimpers.

Polly and Alice arrive fifteen minutes after Cheryl falls asleep.

“Good afterno--” Polly stops dead in her tracks as she takes in the fact that her sister is sitting on the bed with Cheryl with the sleeping redhead gripping onto Betty like she’s her last lifeline “What’s going on?”

“Penelope stopped by” Polly inhales sharply and Alice huffs “she didn’t tell me what she said before she started crying and I just--reacted. She hasn’t let go”

Alice walks over to the side of the bed where her daughter half hangs off of, she grips Betty’s shoulder “I will call Penelope and have a long discussion with her about visiting Cheryl, okay?”

“We can’t stop her, mom” Betty says softly, her own chest aching “she’s Cheryl’s mother”

“No, she’s Cheryl’s abuser” Polly’s eyes shine with unshed tears “they treated her like shit and they just--they never apologized, they never seemed remorseful, they didn’t--she _doesn’t_ care”

“Hey” Alice moves to Polly’s side, she takes her oldest in her arms and kisses the crown on her head “We are not going to let Penelope hurt her anymore, okay?” Alice may not have the biggest heart but what she does have, her girls take up every inch of it. She loves her daughters more than anything and anyone and they seem to love Cheryl and want to protect her so, in turn, it’s Alice job to protect Cheryl.

(but even past that, she sees the pain in Cheryl’s eyes. The pain that used to be in her both of her daughter's eyes, the pain she knows, she caused. She also sees how Penelope isn’t looking for a redemption arc, how she doesn’t care and Alice knows that no child deserves that)

 

-

 

Cheryl wakes up still firmly wrapped in a sleeping Betty’s arms with a sleeping Polly laying her head on Cheryl’s thigh while gripping her calf and Alice pacing the room, yelling at someone on the phone.

“No, you listen here, you are going to drop off everything in that behemoth ass home of yours that belongs to Cheryl, I don’t care if you bought it or if you feel like she doesn’t deserve it--everything that is hers, you are going to drop off at my house and if she tells me even _one_ thing is missing, I will come for you” Cheryl’s chest warms a little as she sees Alice bark at Penelope like it’s her job.

 “And if you ever come to see her while I’m not here, I will publish a hundred goddamn articles about how you and your no good husband knew who Jason and Polly were to each other and didn’t do anything to stop it because you saw no problem with ‘keeping it in the family’” a beat and Alice lets out a laugh that would send chills down anyone's spine “Try me, Penelope” a moment passes and Alice smiles a smile that just screams _‘winner’_ “I will be expecting you at my home by the end of the week with her things” she hangs up the phone and sighs.

“Thank you” Cheryl whispers softly, not wanting to wake up either Cooper daughter “you didn’t have to--”

“Cheryl, I’m not the best mother” Alice sighs as she cuts off the redhead “I used to be when the girls were younger like--the actual best but the started getting older and Polly started rebelling against me and I just--I just doubled down on Betty to make she wouldn’t and tried to keep Polly under my thumb and--it just fell apart” she walks over to Polly’s side and brushes some hair away from her face “But I’m trying to get back to where we were, to get back to seeing my girls smile more and for them to want to talk to me about things--I’m trying so hard to make up for the years we lost and--I hope they see that” Alice shakes her head

“But the point is, I know a bad mother when I see one because I was one. Your mom is one of the worst” Part of Cheryl wants to defend her mother but a bigger part she aches because she knows it’s true “And I also see how she hasn’t tried since you were born. Penelope isn’t a good person and you deserve a family who’s going to, at least, try” Alice shrugs “My girls and I are willing to try if you are”

The redhead blinks and a tear rolls down her cheek as everything in her is warm--her whole life she only ever had Jason to love and protect her. Her parents didn’t and it’s not like Nana Rose is exactly sane. She only ever had Jason and then he died and she never felt so--so alone.

But now, here, with Alice protective words ringing in her ears, with Polly’s head resting on her thigh and Betty holding her tightly even while asleep--she knows she’s getting another chance at family, at love, at warmth.

So she nods and smiles a bright and warm smile “I am”

 

-

 

Day eight in her hospital stay is when her doctor informs Betty, Polly, Cheryl and Alice that the redhead is being discharged and can go home the same night.

“You have done really well, no steps backwards, your temperature has remained good, your cardiac and respiratory functions are good. I have no reason to keep you here any longer”

Polly smiles, brightly as soon as the words slip out of his mouth “oh thank you so much!” she rushes over and hugs the doctor “thank you, thank you, thank you!” she lets go for the chuckling doctor before going back to Cheryl’s side and practically jumping “you get to come home!”

Betty leans down and takes the redhead in her arms and squeezes the redhead as hard as she can without hurting her “finally no more shitty westerns! We get to go home!” Cheryl lets out a chuckle as Polly leans down and hugs both her and Betty while Alice thanks the doctor and Cheryl just smiles, mostly to herself as she feels like something is finally clicking inside her, something that was gone is back--she doesn’t feel so empty anymore.

“Yeah” she mummers “ _home_ ”

 

-

**Author's Note:**

> did u like it??? lemme know what u think! pls drop a comment, hearing back from yall makes my night! :)<333


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